Thursday, April 7, 2022

ROCCAT Vulcan 121 AIMO Review with Cherry MX Brown Switches

I purchased the Renewed version of this keyboard on Amazon for $64.76. The original retail price is $159.99. I ordered it on April 4, 2022 and it arrived on April 6, 2022, and I didn't have to pay for shipping! Thank you Amazon.

The Corsair K70 Low Profile keyboard with Cherry MX Speed switches is my favorite keyboard of all time. I think this is a very close second. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy Cherry MX Brown switches, but I am happy to report that I do. I feel they are perfect for productivity. Although this keyboard is marketed as a gaming keyboard, I think I still prefer Speed switches for gaming. That said, I am going to try this keyboard for gaming for a while and see how I like it. I will try this as my primary keyboard for a while, and if I do not like it for gaming, I will swap this with my Corsair keyboard with Speed switches, and move this to my office setup.

The keyboard feels like a premium product. The LEDs are nice and bright. The wrist rest is magnetic and attaches to the keyboard base very easily. I think this design should be adopted by more keyboard manufacturers. Key caps are very thin, and as a result do not enclose the entire switch, this means that the LEDs give off a glow from the side, and I quite like that look. Out of the box, the LEDs are set to warm lighting which is perfect for me, so I did not have to install any software to customize it. The default color scheme blends nicely with the warm lighting in my gaming room. I am not a big of rainbow lighting that seems to be the default on Corsair keyboards.

I did not detect a lot of key wobble. The backspace key feels a little bit different than the rest, but nothing too bad.

I am willing to overlook a few things because of the price I paid for it. I got a premium mechanical keyboard for little more than what a premium membrane keyboard costs. Therefore the lack of a USB pass through, additional accessories (like textured keycaps etc.) do not bother me. The full retail package might have accessories, but the lack of USB pass through is an issue I might not be willing to overlook.

I am also quite happy with the font on the keycaps. Unlike some of the newer keyboards, which tend to have the secondary key functions printed next to the number, here they are printed below as they were for many years. This makes it more readable, and gives the keys a cleaner look. However, the text for secondary function is not as bright, and I am fine with that.

I am glad I found this keyboard for the price that I did. I fully recommend it. I am not sure I would recommend it at its retail asking price of $159.99.

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